Holi kab hai? Kab hai Holi?

LUCKNOW: Not just Gabbar, Lucknowites want an answer to that question too. At the end of all the confusion regarding Holi, celebrations in the city may be spread over Wednesday and Thursday. Just a day to go for Holi, and people in the city are still asking, `Holi kab hai? Kab hai Holi?' While some are celebrating the festival tomorrow, that is Wednesday , March 23 after the DM announced it as the official Holi day , others are going ahead with their celebrations on Thursday , March 24.

HOLI HAI... ON THURSDAY!

Take for example says businessman Ankit Tulsi. “Everybody in our group of friends loves playing Holi, so we start making plans for the festival well in advance. Even though there is some confusion over the date of the festival now, we are going ahead with our original plans for the 24th,“ says Ankit, who has planned a Holi party on his farm house on Thursday . “We have organised a Holi dinner on Wednesday evening, and will be playing colours on Thursday . Ab agar baaki log Wednesday ko Holi khelengey, toh it's ok, but we will stick to our plans.“

Entrepreneur Aarti Vaid too is going ahead with her original plans for the festival. “I was in Delhi when I got to know about the confusion in Holi dates, but since my friend has organised a Holi party on the 24th, I will be celebrating the festival on that date,“ she says.

... AND ON WEDNESAY

However, others are trying to accommodate the new date for Holi, as announced by the Lucknow DM, into their plans. As Ekta Gurnanai, owner of an apparel shop in Aminabad, shares, “Initially, we had planned a Holi party on Thursday , but since the market is closed on 23rd, we have shifted the party to Wednesday .As of now, we plan to do Holika dahan on the 22nd night, and all our guests have been informed about the same.“

Not going by hearsay , Harsha Amarnani, who owns an apparel store in Janpath market, has confirmed the Holi date with the astrologer, and is now celebrating the festival on Wednesday . “Since there was a lot of confusion regarding the dates, our family decided to contact our astrologer. According to him March 23, 3am is is the time for Holika dahan and we can play with colours after that,“ says Harsha.

DOUBLE THE FUN

For a lot of other people. the confusion is just a good excuse for extended celebrations. Like Nishan Chaudhary, a shopkeeper in Pratap Market, Aminabad, who says, “I will be playing Holi on Wednesday and Thursday with my friends.Since the market will be closed on Wednesday for the festival in all probability , and Thursday is the weekly off for Aminabad for us, I will celebrate the festival over two days!“

STILL CONFUSED

Businessman Dheeraj Arora from Lalbagh, has plans to enjoy the double bonanza this Holi.“The Lalbagh market is divided on when to close the market for Holi. However, if the city is divided on when to play Holi ­ Wednesday or Thursday , there will be no option for us but to close shops on both the days.“

Multiplex and mall officials are also confused about when to close for Holi. Aakash Khatri, general manager and cluster head for Inox in Lucknow, says, “As of now, we plan to close the mall and the multiplex on March 23 till 4PM, as per DM's order.But in case people are playing the Holi next day too, we will not be able to open the multiplex and mall on Thursday either.“ Similar is the confusion at West End Mall in Gomti Nagar.An official from the mall says, “We can't allow people to enter the mall area drenched in water and Holi colours. We can't take any risk on that. As of now, we are confused about whether to close the multiplex and mall on one day or both the days. We are still brainstorming on the topic.“

Kishan Bhambwani, president of the Hazratganj Traders Association too seems uncertain about when to close shops in the area. “As of now we were under the impression that Holi will be played on the 24th, but then, all of a sudden, the DM declared 23rd as the date when Holi will be played,“ he says adding, “I have received many calls from shop owners for a confirmed date to close the shops and play Holi. But before coming to any decision, we will be asking other associations of local markets in the city such as Aminabad and Ahaiyaganj and will also reconfirm the dates with the DM."